Adrenaline
by NMKK
Summary: A continuation of the cruel cliffhanger at the end of "Setup".Reviews will be greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

"_Castle, I just want you to know how much I…."_

_He watched her fade slowly telling her to stay with him and reassuring her that they were going to get out of this alive. The cold had started to take over her body and he wasn't sure how much longer either of them would last in this freezer._

*One hour earlier*

"How cold do you think it is in here?" he asked shivering slightly.

"Well below freezing." She said sounding slightly fearful. She proceeded to remove her gun from the holster and attempt to shoot down the door.

"Woah what are you doing?" he asked trying to dodge any bouncing bullets. He slowly moved closer to her" That isn't going to help us. That door is made of steel." He said, eyes focused on her face.

She remained stoic. Her face showing no trace of fear, but her shaking hands showing evidence of her steadily decreasing body temperature. "Nobody knows that we are here Castle. I could really use a silver lining here." She said staring right into his piercing eyes.

"I wish I had one." He said moving closer to her. He clasped his hands together and blew on them. "We have to find some way to keep warm until someone finds us." He said with a shiver.

"I agree." She said shyly turning her gaze away from him.

"Why don't we…. Kind of um…. Huddle…uh…" He stammered awkwardly. He slowly walked back to the side wall of the freezer and slid down to the floor. She followed suit and slid close to him. He wrapped his arm around her thin shoulders and she rested her head on his chest.

"You know, this is not how I had planned on spending my night." She said with a soft chuckle followed by a cough due to the intense cold. She pulled the zipper up as far as it would go.

"As much as I am enjoying this," he said pulling her closer to him "I have to agree."

Minutes passed that seemed like hours, and Kate's condition deteriorated. He felt her breathing become more strained, and her shivering become more intense with each passing minute. "C-C-Castle I-I can't feel anything." She said hugging herself.

"It's ok Kate, just stay with me." He said desperately pulling her into his side. "Don't give up. Just think of a really warm place like the Bahamas. We could go there after someone finds us." He said pressing his cheek to her forehead. "I'm sorry this is all my fault. I made you…." He said, but was interrupted by her shushing.

"Shhhh. Castle this is not your fault. We found the bomb. You were right." She said turning ever so slowly to face him. She reached us trying to touch his face, but lost the strength. "I just want you to know how much I….." she forced out before losing consciousness.

He frantically looked at her face and pressed his cheek to her forehead. "Just stay with me Kate. It's ok. Just stay with me." He rocked back and forth, trying to keep himself warm.

They stayed this way for what seemed like forever. Castle began to lose hope that they would ever be found. He reached for her wrist every few minutes to check her slowing pulse. "Kate please you can't leave me. You can't give up!" he said rubbing her shoulder.

That was when he heard a knocking sound outside the freezer. He heard voices approaching quickly, and began to scream for help. "Help! Help! We are in here. HELP!" he yelled as loud as he possibly could. The pain in his lungs was excruciating. Then he heard the voices right outside the freezer.

Ryan and Esposito cut the lock and flung the door open as quickly as possible. "Castle! Beckett! Are you in here." Esposito yelled frantically. He looked to the side of the freezer, and through the fog he saw the two sitting against the wall. He moved as quickly as he could towards them and called for the rest of the team. "Man I am glad to see you two." He said breathlessly.

"She is in really bad shape." He said on the verge of tears. " I tried my best to keep her warm." He said clinging to her for dear life.

Ryan joined Esposito in trying to pry Beckett from Castle's grip. "Dude you have to let her go. We have to get her to the paramedics." Esposito said looking into his eyes. "You did great Castle, but we have to take her to the paramedics." Castle slowly loosened his grip and allowed them to take her.

They guys helped Castle over to the ambulance while the paramedics tended to Beckett. Castle was very stubborn and repeatedly refused medical care until Kate was taken care of. Ryan and Esposito talked some sense into him, but he was still concentrating on how Kate was doing.

When they got to the hospital, Castle and Beckett were put into separate rooms, but that didn't keep castle's thoughts away from Kate. He asked about her constantly, and the doctors insisted that they didn't know anything yet. His condition was much less serious than Beckett's. The doctors had no explanation for it other than adrenalin.

The doctors told him to relax, but he couldn't rest until he saw Kate. They finally gave into his continuous begging, and wheeled him into her room. When he first saw her she looked so pale. His heart ached seeing her so fragile like this. He moved closer to her and grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I am so sorry." He said rubbing his cheek over her hand. He released a small sob, but quickly tried to compose himself.

Then he felt a gentle squeeze on his hand, and he looked up at her face. He saw her smiling softly at him. He smiled and kissed her hand again. "I am so glad to see that smile." He said squeezing her hand.

"I never picked you for the sappy type Castle." She said with a chuckle. He faked a pain in his heart and resumed his hold on her hand. "I didn't say I didn't like it though." She said staring straight into his eyes.

It was then that they both knew they couldn't pretend anymore. They couldn't hide their feelings for each other. They had get it out in the open. However, that could wait until later. Right now they had a bomb to diffuse.


	2. Chapter 2

At the precinct, the dynamic duo began their stressful work to find the bomb. It was possibly too stressful for someone who just spent a good long while in a freezer, but that has never stopped Kate Beckett.

She held her hand over her chest and coughed. The pain in her chest was excruciating. Castle slowly approached her and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his concerned eyes and quickly turned away.

"I am fine Castle, nothing a little Ricola won't fix." She said staring at the murder board. She turned to look him in the eyes to reassure him, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Kate, you shouldn't even be here." He said with a serious tone. He moved to make sure he had direct eye contact.

"You know Castle, my lungs won't do me any good if I get blown up." She said trying to lighten the mood. He didn't find the humor in her statement.

"Fine, stay here and cough up a lung. Just know that I am not happy about it." He said crossing his arms and pouting like a two year old. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he cared about her deeply.

"I think I can live with that Rick." She said realizing that she used her first name, a rare occurrence that made her stomach twist into knots. She quickly changed the subject to avoid the ensuing awkwardness. "So we are back at square one aren't we." She said with a sigh followed by a violent cough.

"I guess so other than the fact that we know that there is a bomb out there somewhere." He said offering her some hot tea.

"Thanks. Where is agent meanie douche." She said taking a sip of the tea and sharing a chuckle with Castle.

"He's right here." Agent Fallon said as he walked up behind them. Kate and Rick looked at each other like children that had just been caught stealing from the cookie jar. "How are you feeling detective?" he asked not making eye contact.

"I am just fine. Thanks for asking." She said without any expression.

"I am glad to hear it. We need you in tip top shape to catch this guy. We can't have you falling down on the job." He said with a conceited tone. Castle white knuckled the desk the keep from saying something he would regret. Beckett gave a soft look to let him know that it was ok.

"Well I came over to tell you that we have a lead. There is a van registered to Jamal that is missing. Since the guys were using Jamal as a cover, a missing van looks really suspicious. The tech guys are working with the tracking system that Jamal had, but it is protected so they are trying to hack into it." He said as he reached for his phone.

"We don't really have much time. Can they put a rush on it?" Castle said getting a harsh look from agent meanie pants.

"They have it narrowed down to two locations, but that is the best they can do." He said responding to the text. "They are sending us the addresses right now." He said grabbing a pen and paper.

"We will take one and you take the other." Beckett said looking over his shoulder. She grabbed the paper he was scribbling on and signaled to Castle to follow her. She grabbed her keys and ran quickly to the elevator.

The car ride was pretty much silent until Castle got impatient with peace and quiet. "What do we do if we find the bomb? I don't know how to diffuse a bomb." He said with a slight hint of fear.

"I don't know Castle. I guess we will play it by ear. I don't know how to diffuse a bomb either." She said calmly. She tried to hide her fear.

"I guess so." He said sitting back in his seat.

They arrived at the address on the paper. It was an abandoned warehouse. Who would have expected that? "Here Castle, take this. These guys are armed and I don't want you going in there without protection." She said handing him a gun. "Well here goes." She said as she entered a small side door.

They walked in and heard voices. Beckett signaled for Castle to follow behind her. He nodded and they both walked slowly across the concrete floor. "Put your hands up." She said as she jumped from behind the wooden crates. She trained her weapon on one of the two men and Castle followed suit.

"Take it easy." The man said as he raised his hands slowly. Beckett and Castle approached the suspects with caution. Beckett moved slowly over to one of the men while signaling Castle to hold off. She went to reach for the man's bun but before she got the chance he wrapped his arm around her neck and held his gun to her head.

"Now this is how this is going to happen. You are going to drop your weapon and put your hands in the air." The suspect said as her shoved the gun against her temple. She winced in pain when he tightened his grip on her throat. She struggled for breath and started a fit of coughing. "I'm not falling for that you hold still or you are going to have a bullet in your brain." He said struggling to hold her still.

"She can't help it." Castle said pleading. He attempted to move toward her, but the man pointed his weapon at Castle who backed off immediately.

"You take another step and I will blow her head off." He said putting the gun back to Beckett's head. Beckett had tears forming in her eyes from the pain of coughing. She turned slightly trying to make herself more comfortable.

Then, a shot rang out. Castle's heart sank to the floor. All of his thoughts rushed through his head. Would he ever get to tell her he loved her, that he thought about her constantly, and that he needed her. Kate and the suspect fell to the floor into a puddle of blood.

"No!" Castle yelled as he ran over to her. He knelt to the floor and softly whispered her name through a sob. She turned her head to look at him, and he broke down in tears. He reached down and scooped her up into a hug. He heard her crying softly. He looked down and saw the suspect with a bullet hole in his forehead.

"Today has not been your day." he said releasing her just enough so that he could look into her eyes.

"Well, considering I have escaped death twice, I would say it hasn't been that bad." She said smiling at him.

They both stood and took in their surroundings. They hadn't even noticed the swarm of people around them. They saw agent Fallon approaching them, and they heard the sirens in the distance.

"You two are getting into all kinds of trouble aren't you." He said walking past them to the van. "The bomb squad is on the way." he said looking at his phone.

The squad showed up and cleared the area. They diffused the bomb with no trouble, and the case was closed. Agent Fallon said his cold goodbyes to the team, and he returned to his federal duties.

"You know what I could really use?" Beckett said as she put the last signature on the last piece of paperwork.

"What is that?" Castle said intrigued.

"I could really use a good burger and a milkshake." She said with lustful eyes.

"I could not agree more." Castle said with a smile.

She put the last of the paperwork into the folder and turned to face him. They shared one of their famous looks, but somehow this one was different. It was loaded with all of the unspoken feelings that they had bottled up.

"You know Kate, when I saw you fade in that freezer, and when I heard that bullet, I thought I would never hear you call me a child again, or roll your eyes at me. I thought I lost you forever." He said with a painful remembrance of the recent events. "I thought that I would never get the opportunity…" he paused to gather his words, but was cut short when he felt her grab his hand.

"I thought I would never get the opportunity to tell you how I feel about you. I know that you feel it too. I can't keep it to myself anymore Kate, not after what happened today." He said searching for a response in her eyes. She looked right into his eyes and smiled. Right at the moment, he knew that she felt the same way. He knew that he would never have to keep his feeling for her bottled up again.

He put his hand on her cheek and wiped a small tear from her cheek. He moved in closer and placed a soft kiss on her cheek where the tear fell. "I can't believe this is actually happening." She said with a huge smile on her face.

"Believe it." He said closing the space between them with a kiss that expressed everything that they were feeling that couldn't be put into words.


End file.
